As the world marks Human Rights Day under the theme “Building Our Future Together,” Uganda’s LGBTQ community finds itself at a critical juncture, grappling with intensified legal persecution and systemic discrimination that threatens the very foundation of universal human rights.

For decades, the community has existed under the shadow of colonial-era penal code provisions that criminalize same-sex relations. Yet 2023 and 2024 have brought unprecedented challenges with the passage and enforcement of the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2024, one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws.

In April 2024, the Constitutional Court delivered a devastating blow when it upheld most provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, maintaining penalties including life imprisonment for same-sex relations and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” The court’s decision legitimized state-sanctioned discrimination and emboldened those who seek to erase LGBTQ existence from Ugandan society.

The repercussions have been swift and severe. Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), one of the country’s most prominent LGBTQ advocacy organizations, faced closure and targeting by authorities. This crackdown extends beyond SMUG to numerous organizations providing critical health services, legal aid, and community support to LGBTQ Ugandans. The systematic dismantling of these support networks has left vulnerable community members exposed and isolated.

The legislative assault has precipitated a humanitarian crisis characterized by widespread human rights violations:

Evictions and Housing Discrimination: LGBTQ individuals face arbitrary evictions from their homes, with landlords citing the Anti-Homosexuality Act as justification. Families are displaced, and many are forced into hiding or homelessness.

Workplace Harassment: Employees suspected of being LGBTQ face termination, blackmail, and hostile work environments. The law has created a climate where discrimination is not only tolerated but encouraged.

Digital Violence: Perhaps most insidious is the explosion of online harassment targeting LGBTQ persons. This year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence theme, “UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls,” resonates powerfully with Uganda’s LGBTQ community, particularly lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women who face compounded marginalization. Social media platforms have become hunting grounds where individuals are outed, threatened, and subjected to coordinated campaigns of abuse. Digital violence has real-world consequences, leading to physical attacks, extortion, and community exile.

On this Human Rights Day, we must affirm an incontrovertible truth: LGBTQ rights are human rights in Uganda and across the world. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes no exceptions based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Every person, regardless of who they love or how they identify, possesses inherent dignity and equal rights under the law.

The theme “Building Our Future Together” cannot be realized when entire communities are excluded, persecuted, and denied their fundamental freedoms. Uganda’s future strength lies not in conformity enforced through violence and discrimination, but in embracing the diversity of all its citizens.

A Call to Action

As we commemorate Human Rights Day, we call on:

• The Ugandan government to repeal the Anti-Homosexuality Act and decriminalize consensual same-sex relations
• International partners to maintain pressure and support for LGBTQ rights in Uganda
• Civil society to stand in solidarity with marginalized communities
• All Ugandans to recognize that an attack on any community’s rights threatens the rights of all

The fight for LGBTQ rights in Uganda is far from over. Despite the darkness of this moment, the community’s resilience endures. As we build our future together, we must ensure it is a future where every Ugandan can live freely, safely, and with dignity—regardless of whom they love.

Human rights are not negotiable. They are not privileges to be granted or withheld. They are the birthright of every human being.